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History's famous leakers/whistleblowers

Daniel Ellsberg -- This State Department employee leaked the Pentagon Papers, a secret Defense Department study of how the United States came to fight the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers in 1971.

W. Mark Felt -- Otherwise known as "Deep Throat," this associate director at the FBI leaked information about Watergate to Washington Post reportersBob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the 1970s. He revealed his identity in 2005.

Mark Whitacre -- He worked with the FBI in 1990s to expose price-fixing in agriculture by his own company, Archer Daniels Midland, but ended up in legal trouble himself. Whitacre was played by Matt Damon in the 2009 movie "The Informant!"

Mordechai Vanunu -- This former Israeli nuclear technician revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986.

Sherron Watkins -- Her internal memo about accounting irregularities at Enron proved that executives knew of illegal activities in their midst and is considered key in facilitating the energy giant's downfall in 2001.

Coleen Rowley -- An FBI agent, she alleged in 2002 that the agency had failed to act on information about one of the key figures in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Zacarias Moussaoui. She was named Time's "Person of the Year" in 2002 along with two other female whistleblowers.

Frank Serpico -- A New York City police officer, he attempted to confront the rampant corruption within the police department in 1971. He left the force after being shot in the face during a botched drug raid and later moved out of the country. Al Pacino played him in the 1973 movie "Serpico."

Frederic Whitehurst -- An FBI agent, he exposed shoddy work and inaccurate testimony from the bureau's crime lab beginning in 1992.

Jeffrey Wigand -- This former tobacco company executive made enemies by claiming on "60 Minutes" in 1996 that cigarette companies knew their products contained addictive levels of nicotine. He was played by Russell Crowe in the 1999 film "The Insider."

Edward Snowden - This former American intelligence contractor exposed the U.S. government's secret surveillance programs in June 2013 through documents leaked to The Guardian and The Washington Post. He revealed himself as the leaker after leaving the country, and federal prosecutors subsequently charged Snowden with espionage and theft of government property. Snowden applied for and received asylum in Russia in July 2013. In an interview with NBC News, he also claims he was trained as a spy by the U.S. government.

Karen Silkwood -- This young mother of three died mysteriously in 1974 during her campaign to document lax safety regulations at the Kerr-McGee nuclear facility. She was played by Meryl Streep in the 1983 film "Silkwood."

Bradley Manning -- A U.S. Army private, he provided classified military and diplomatic material to Assange's WikiLeaks site. He was convicted of espionage charges, but acquitted of the more serious charge of aiding the enemy following a court-martial.

Crystal Lee Sutton -- The inspiration for the 1979 movie "Norma Rae" starring Sally Field, she fronted efforts to unionize workers at the North Carolina textile factory she worked at. She and other workers were paid just $2.65 an hour for folding towels in poor working conditions.

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